The Richard H. Driehaus Building Arts Awards are awarded to the leading masters in the various crafts of traditional construction in Spain, who have stood out most in their preservation and continuation.
They are oganized annually by INTBAU (International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism), thanks to the support of the Richard H. Driehaus Charitable Lead Trust, with the collaboration of the Department of Building and Architecture of the Ministry of Public Works and Infrastructure, the Department of Beaux Arts and Cultural Goods and Archives and Libraries of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, the Rafael Manzano Prize and the Council of Architecture Institutes of Spain.
The traditional building works have been grouped into four categories for these prizes, each of which was awarded a €10,000 award and a commemorative plaque. 92 proposals were received for these categories.
The Jury is formed by a group of practitioners of various nationalities and of recognized prestige in the field of traditional architecture defense. It includes representatives from the various institutions collaborating in this initiative. It was chaired by Alejandro García Hermida and composed by Álvaro Fernández-Villaverde y de Silva, Leopoldo Gil Cornet, Donald Gray, Rafael Manzano Martos, Javier Martín Ramiro, Anselmo Menéndez Menéndez, José María Pérez González (Peridis), María Pía Timón Tiemblo and Harriet Wennberg.
The first category covers works with arches and vaults, vaulted stairways, stonework and other brick and masonry projects. The jury awarded this prize to Carlos Martín Jiménez. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWoDsG7S18E
The second category covers wooden roofs, ceilings and structures, furnishings, muqarnas, woodturning, woodcarving, door and window carpentry, and other wood works. The winner of this first edition was Manuel Navarrete Moreno. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcaRRmNRAwo
The third category includes tiles, mosaics, plasterwork, stucco, sgraffito, decorative flooring and other finishes. The winner was the company Ubedíes Artesanía. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLHtKB7j3yc
The fourth category focuses on forgework, ironwork, leaded glass windows and other traditional metal and glass works. Forja Tiznajo was the winner of this prize. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFOb02k0oEU
Moreover, in order to lend continuity to their work, the jury also awards one of the four winners from each year an additional €10,000 prize to train an apprentice for a year. The apprentice, in turn, is awarded a stipend of up to €8,000 during the training stage. The master architect the jury selected from amongst the category winners was Manuel Navarrete.
